Australia builds world’s longest cat-proof fencer to protect native wildlife and vegetation

A conservation agency has constructed what is believed to be the world’s longest cat-proof fence in central Australia to save native wildlife and vegetation ravaged by the feline predators. Australia has the highest extinction rate in the world, while declining populations are affected by habitat loss as well as introduced creatures such as cats, foxes and rabbits going feral and killing native species across the vast continent. The Australian Wildlife Conservancy this month finished building and electrifying the 44-kilometre (27-mile) long fence to create a predator-free area of almost 9,400 hectares (23,200 acres) some 350 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs. “Australia does not have an effective strategy for controlling cats,” AWC chief Attius Fleming told AFP. “The only way we can save Australia’s most endangered animals is by establishing these massive feral cat-free areas using conservation fencing.” Fleming said as part of the project -- which is funded by public and government donations -- cats and other feral animals were being removed from the area, with threatened native mammals to be reintroduced next year.